Meinit was one of the 77
woreda
Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''zones'' and the '' regional states''.
These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...
s in the
of
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
. Part of the
Bench Maji Zone
Bench Sheko (previously known as Bench Maji) is a zone in the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Bench Sheko is bordered on the south and southeast by West Omo, on the west by the Gambela Region on the north by Sheka, and on the e ...
, Meinit was bordered on the south by
Dizi, on the west by
Sheko, on the north by
Bench, on the east by the
Keficho Shekicho Zone, and on the southeast by the
Omo River
The Omo River (also called Omo-Bottego) in southern Ethiopia is the largest Ethiopian river outside the Nile, Nile Basin. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and it empties into Lake Turkana on the border with Keny ...
which separated it from the
Debub Omo Zone
South Omo Zone (or Debub Omo Zone) is a List of zones of Ethiopia, zone in the Ethiopian Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region (SNNPR). Debub Omo is bordered on the south by Kenya, on the southwest by the South Sudan, on the west by ...
. Towns in Meinit included
Bachuma,and
Jemu. Meinit was separated for
Meinit Goldiya
Meinit Goldiya is one of the woredas in the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Bench Maji Zone, Meinit Goldiya is bordered on the south by Meinit Shasha, on the west by Debub Bench, on the northwest by She Bench, and on ...
and
Meinit Shasha Meinit Shasha is one of the woredas in the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Bench Maji Zone, Meinit Shasha is bordered on the south by Maji, on the southwest by Bero, on the west by Guraferda, on the north by Debub Benc ...
woredas.
The part of this woreda which lied within 15 kilometers of the Omo was included in the
Omo National Park
Omo National Park is a national park in Ethiopia founded in 1980. Located in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region on the west bank of the Omo River, the park covers approximately 4,068 square kilometers, about 870 kilometers so ...
.
Meinit was selected by the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2004 as one of several woredas for voluntary resettlement for farmers from overpopulated areas, becoming the new home for a total of 6610 heads of households and 26,440 total family members.
Demographics
Based on figures published by the
Central Statistical Agency
The Central Statistical Agency (CSA; Amharic: ማዕከላዊ ስታቲስቲክስ ኤጀንሲ) is an agency of the government of Ethiopia designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that country used to monitor economic and social growth ...
in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 51,213, of whom 25,561 are men and 25,652 women; 5,162 or 10.08% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 9.1%. With an estimated area of 4,333.69 square kilometers, Meinit has an estimated population density of 11.8 people per square kilometer, which is less than the Zone average of 20.
In the 1994 national census this woreda had a population of 35,541, of whom 17,824 were men and 17,717 women; 2,848 or 8.01% of its population were urban dwellers. The four largest ethnic groups reported in Meinit were the
Me'en (87.97%), the
Bench (3.77%), the
Amhara (3.14%), and the
Dizi (3.08%); all other ethnic groups made up 2.04% of the population.
Me'en was spoken as a first language by 87.82% of the inhabitants, 5.21% spoke
Amharic
Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...
, 3.51% spoke
Bench, and 2.91% spoke
Dizin
Dizin ( fa, دیزین) is the largest Iranian ski resort. It is located in the Alborz mountain range, about 70km North from Tehran. It was established during the 1960s under the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Dizin is the first ski and winter ...
; the remaining 0.55% spoke all other primary languages reported. Concerning
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
, 6.18% of the population were considered literate; 4.33% of children aged 7–12 were in primary school; 2.14% of the children aged 13–14 were in junior secondary school, and 0.69% of the inhabitants aged 15–18 were in senior secondary school. Concerning
sanitary conditions
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...
, about 48% of the urban and 5% of the total had toilet facilities.
''1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region'', Vol. 1, part 2
, Tables 6.3, 6.13 (accessed 17 April 2009)
Notes
{{coord, 6, 30, N, 35, 45, E, display=title, type:adm3rd_region:ET
Former districts of the South West Ethiopia Peoples' Region